“A senior citizen beat some of their stars”: Brandel Chamblee continues to bash LIV Golf after players’ Masters 2024 performance
Brandel Chamblee is one of the biggest detractors of LIV Golf. Ever since their formation, the former golfer turned analyst has decidedly not been a fan. Whether it's the tour itself or the players that have joined up, nothing positive comes from his side, and that did not stop after the Masters.
Chamblee saw a fan say that LIV had an overall quality performance at the tournament, but the analyst was quick to discredit that idea. In his eyes, the collective performance wasn't what LIV had hoped for.
Chamblee tarnished the tour's performance at the Masters:
"You think they paid 3 billion for a few top tens and to be +82 as a group at major? A senior citizen beat some of their 'stars' and almost all the game’s of LIV players have deteriorated since they sold their souls to the Saudis who only bought a moment in time… nothing else."
The senior citizen he's referring to is most likely Vijay Singh, who finished T58 but did finish ahead of LIV stars like Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, and Dustin Johnson at Augusta National.
Chamblee noted all of this in response to the Rory McIlroy report. The report that he was going to move to LIV Golf has since been disputed by the golfer himself, but there was a strong rumor for a while.
Nevertheless, the analyst believed that the rumor was drawn up to distract from LIV's performance at the Masters that Chamblee deemed unsatisfactory. It's unclear where the rumor really came from, as even McIlroy couldn't speculate on the origins, but Chamblee has an idea.
How did LIV Golf do at the Masters?
Overall, it was not quite as strong of a showing at the Masters this year as it was last year. In 2023, they had two players finish tied for second in Brooks Koepka and, in turn-back-the-clock fashion, Phil Mickelson.
Patrick Reed finished T4 as their other top 10 finish, but only a few missed the cut. It was a good showing that year, but the tour's golfers might not have done as well this time around.
The best LIV Golf member at Augusta was Bryson DeChambeau, who finished T6 with another tourmate: Cameron Smith. They were joined by Tyrrell Hatton (T9) in the top 10.
Reed was also good again this year, as he finished tied for 12th. Joaquin Niemann joined him in the top 25. Mickelson, Jon Rahm, and Koepka also made the cut. They had a few miss the cut, though.
LIV is still searching for the first instance of one of its members winning the Masters. Koepka's win at the 2023 PGA Championship gave the tour a major win, but they haven't broken through at Augusta.
2024 might have represented their best shot as Rahm entered as both the defending champion and the golfer with the third-best odds overall to win it. However, he fell pretty flat and scored a +9 in disappointing fashion.